


quixotic.

by hairringtonsteve



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-06-26 13:36:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15664245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hairringtonsteve/pseuds/hairringtonsteve
Summary: “I promised that I’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”“Could you try a little harder, then? Because you kind of suck at this.”OrThe one where there's another lab, you're trying your hardest, Steve is just trying to make sure everyone is okay, and everything goes to shit pretty fast.





	1. prologue.

There was blood everywhere.

The walls were stained with reddish-brown marks. It looked as though someone had taken some thick, glob-filled paint and smeared it everywhere with their hands. On the floor were the actual puddles. It stuck to the soles of your feet, staining them. It was sticky as you padded forward. With every step, the blood flicked onto the backs of your legs. You couldn’t feel it, but you knew it was there, taunting you and reminding you of what had happened.

It was too soon for the smell of death to fill the air, but you could imagine it. The fictitious scent was cloying as you made your way through the hallway.

You shuddered as your foot brushed up against a dismembered arm.

It was quiet when you reached the lab. By then, the blood was thick on the floor. You were constantly bumping up against body parts. They were torn apart, the teeth marks littering their skin signs of what had happened.

You took in a deep breath, holding it in as you nudged your foot against one of the bodies. You tried to shove it to the side, but it was too heavy. You glanced from it to the door. You needed in there. You  _had_ to get in there. But getting there meant actually touching one of the bodies. Looking down, you tried to recognize who it was. It might have been Doctor Arayed, but the face was chewed off, the muscles and bone showing through.

You turned to the side so you could vomit.

Once you were done retching, you leaned down and gripped the arm. It was slick with blood. Your fingers gripped it tight and you heaved the body up. It took you a few seconds, but you managed to shove it out of the way. Your blood-stained fingers wrapped around the handle of the door. The metal was cold against your skin. You turned it and it gave way, releasing the tight grip that fear had had on your chest.

Stepping inside, it was quiet. There were a few lights blinking, a soft  _beep_  every ten seconds. You glanced around, shutting the door behind you. There was movement in the corner, making you jerk your head to the left. The fear was lingering in the air, causing everything seem more ominous. The kids were huddled in the corner. Ben was crying, his muffled whimpers emanating through the lab.

“Hey, it’s me. It’s me,” you whispered, walking towards them. You made sure to slow your movements. The lot of you had been tortured together. You’d bled together, cried together. But you knew the limits.

Only bad things happened when people rushed towards you.

“Is it over?” A high, weedy voice asked. You had to squint to see who it was — Vee.

You thought back to the bodies and the blood, the carnage that marked the hallways where you’d lived your entire lives. You gave a short nod of your head. “It’s over.”

“Can we go now?” That was Seb. His voice was thick with tears as he pulled away from Bren and ran over to you. His arms wrapped around your legs as he buried his face into your side. You reached down and lifted him up, his head finding its usual place on your shoulder. You looked across the rest of the group, the ragtag bunch in varying states of panic. Tee looked at you, jaw set. Blood was trickling down the side of her face.

“Let’s get out of here.”


	2. i. under pressure.

“I promised that I’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“Could you try a little harder, then? Because you kind of suck at this.” Just a minute ago, she’d pried off the metal lid of a Spaghettios can and had somehow folded it in half so she could use it as a spoon. She dipped her makeshift spoon into the can, precariously balancing a pile of canned noodles onto it and shoving it into her mouth. She said something, but it was muffled behind the food.

Some sauce dribbled down her chin and onto her shirt. It seemed almost impossible to keep from rolling your eyes, but somehow you managed.

“What was that, Tee? I couldn’t understand you around the food.” Tee glanced over to Seb, who had his head shoved in the refrigerator. He was standing on the tips of his toes, trying his hardest to reach something that was on the top shelf. When she made sure that he wasn’t looking, she set the can down on the kitchen table and shot you the finger. “Seriously, though, can you watch him?”

“Watch who?” Seb asked, poking his head out of the fridge. He gave you a bright grin, hair falling in front of his eyes. “Can I have pudding for lunch?” He stuck his tongue through the the gap between his two missing teeth in the front, waggling his eyebrows as though it’d help change your mind.

“You, kid. You can’t be trusted on your own. You could burn the place down or something.” His arm was sneaking back inside the refrigerator. “Oh, no. No pudding. You need real food for lunch.” He slammed the door shut and scowled at you. It would’ve been almost intimidating if he wasn’t just over three and a half feet tall.

“I wouldn’t burn it down. Tee would. I’d put it out.”

Tee smirked as she swallowed her food. “He’s got a point. What’s that word you used to call me?”

“Asshole?” Seb supplied as he crawled onto the chair next to Tee. You let out a cry of ‘ _language!’_  but he just ignored you. “What’re you eating?” He wrinkled his brow as he leaned his arms onto the table, as if trying to read what the label said —like he could actually read. “Pasghettios?”

“ _Spa_ ghettios. You want some?” Tee handed the can over to the five year old. His eyes lit up when he saw what was passing for a spoon. “Be careful with the lid,” she warned. Glancing back to you, she raised a brow. “So what was the word?”

“Pyro. You’re a pyro.” Your lips pressed together as you pinched the bridge of your nose. All you had to do was keep hold of your patience for a few more days, and the three of you would be free. But then Tee was opening her mouth to say something, and you felt like you were going to snap. “Can you just watch him? It should only take me a few hours.”

“No need to get touchy, God. It’s fine.” Seb tapped Tee on the arm to hand her back the can. You watched as he gave her the lid-turned-spoon as well. There was sauce all over his fingers.

You walked over to the sink to grab a hand-towel to run it under the faucet. “You guys do know that there are more spoons, right? And also more than one can of Spaghettios?”

“You do know that you don’t have to be an ass-”

“ _Tee_.” Your voice was ragged as you almost groaned, the frustration obvious to anyone that was listening. You turned to her, frowning.

“We just wanted to see if we could eat it like this!” Seb piped up, looking between the two of you. “Like an experiment.”

He looked over to Tee, who was still glaring at you, and slowly reached over for the can. A tense second passed, and he started to eat once more.

“I’m just saying,” Tee started up, her arms crossed over her chest. “You kind of really suck right now.”

“Are you serious?” You tilted your head back and groaned. “After all the shit that I’ve done to make sure that  _your_  ass is alive, and this is what you give me? You can’t even agree to watch him for a few hours because you’re the asshole!”

“It’s like an experiment,” Seb mumbled to himself. He was focused solely on the food in front of him, as though he tuning everything else out. “I’m an experiment,” he added, grinning.

“Jesus, Seb. You’re not an experiment,” you snapped. louder and harder than you’d meant to. Your sharp words, accompanied by a scowl, made his grin drop. His face twisted up and got red. His lower lip trembled as he stood up from the table.

“You’re no fun anymore!” With that declaration, he practically ran into the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

“He’s right, you know. You’re no fun anymore.” You turned to Tee, who was still scowling. “What? I’m just saying, no pudding for lunch  _and_  yelling at him? You’re practically begging for a meltdown.”

“Trust me, I’m not begging for — “ You could hear a shriek from the bedroom, and the shattering of glass. “Well, that’s great.”

“Look,” Tee said, standing up from the table. She walked over to the couch, where your backpack and a decent sized cardboard box were sitting. “You take this stuff into town and see what you can get for it and I’ll deal with Mr. Drama, okay?”

Another thud came from the door. “You sure that you can handle the tantrum?”

“I’ll be fine. Go.” Her tone was final. You headed over to the couch and slung the backpack full of records over your shoulders. The weight made you frown. Peaking into the box, you made sure that that was filled to the top with records as well. “Just get some good money for them. I’d like to eat food that’s not ‘pasghettios’.”

You let out a snort. “You know that there’s other food in the freezer, right?”

Tee scoffed. “Yeah, but it’s just a ton of Eggos. You can’t live off of Eggos.”

“Says you. Eggos are magic.” She let out a huff of laughter as you picked up the box, wincing at the weight. It was uncomfortable, but not unbearable. You headed towards the door, hesitating as Tee walked over to get it for you. It was hard to remember that she was only fifteen. Hell, you were only nineteen. Neither of you should have had to deal with any of this. Your frustration towards her weakened. “You’re sure you’re good?”

“I can handle this.”

“You shouldn’t have to, though.” The words were quiet, the closest that you’d get to an apology. Your expression softened as Tee opened the door. She was avoiding your gaze, focusing resolutely on a squirrel shuffling around for its acorns on the ground just beyond the porch.

“None of us should have to handle this.” Her words were quiet in the warm spring air. “But we’re stuck with it, so we might as well deal.” Finally she turned to face you. Her expression was blank, but her eyes were hard. She looked older than fifteen. Another yell could be heard from the bedroom. “You better head out before he burns the place to the ground.”

“Isn’t that  _your_  job?”

Your words did the trick. The corners of her mouth twitched into a small smile and she rolled her eyes.

“Just go so we can head out of here in the morning.” You gave a nod of your head before stepping outside, the air hitting you. It was humid, the dampness just hanging there. There was no wind, no break, just heat.

You stood on the porch, shifting the cardboard box in your arms until Tee closed and latched the door. A pang of anxiety shot through you. They’d be fine. It was only for a few hours. It took you a few moments, but you forced yourself down the steps. Town was a couple miles away, but there were a lot of woods that surrounded the cabin. They would be safe and hidden away — as long as they followed the rules. Stay inside, stay away from the windows, keep the curtains drawn, don’t answer the door unless the secret knock is given. You didn’t want to think about the last time that Tee had decided that she was above the rules.

The gunshots still rang in your ears.

That was the past, though. You shook your head as you traipsed through the brush. There was a dirt road that led to the cabin, so you followed along that, staying just beyond the treeline. It was around May, you figured. There shouldn’t be anyone out hunting.

It didn’t take long for you to feel the sweat starting to drip down your back. You swallowed, suddenly wishing that you’d thought to bring some water with you before you left. You’d even seen a water canteen hanging off a hook in the kitchen. At the very least, you’d have to nab that before you left. It’d come in handy even though the three of you were heading north.

Well, not just the three of you. All sixteen of you, really. Just because everyone was scattered, that didn’t mean that you weren’t all in it together. Everyone was just… On their own for awhile.

It had been the safest course of action, you knew that. Alex knew that too, even if he hadn’t wanted to admit it then. He’d wanted everyone to stick together, that was all. It felt safer when everyone was together. From the time that you’d been born, it was always safer when you all were in the same room. You’d understood where he was coming from.

It was just hard to really think when everyone was huddled in the lab while there was still blood smeared along the windows.

“We can’t split up, we’ve got to stick together,” he’d said, giving you that imploring look. It was making you feel antsy, like you were going to crawl out of your skin.

“We can’t all make it to —  _you know where_ — together. We’d stick out too much. You saw what it was like outside. People don’t travel in groups that big.” Alex had scowled and shook his head. “You  _know_ that I’m right.” Without thinking about it, you narrowed your eyes, drawing upon that fear and anger within your chest.

Alex gave your shoulder a sharp shove. “Don’t try that Jedi mind trick bullshit on me. You know it won’t work.”

“You know that I’m right, though. We’ll be found easier. You told me yourself that you heard Doctor Lepner call for that, that… what’s it called?”

“Department for Defense, I think?”

“Exactly!” You jabbed your finger into his chest and scowled. “Do you really think that those people are going to be on our side? Do you really think that?”

Alex went to respond when he heard a guttural growl come from outside the lab doors. Everyone fell silent. Slowly, you turned your head to the thick metal doors, trying to see through the frosted glass. The silhouette of something awful crossed it. You looked over to Vee, who was trying to comfort Seb. He took in a shuddery breath before Tee slapped her hand over his mouth and wrapped her free arm around him.

You felt a tap on your shoulder. Glancing back to Alex, you paused at the expression on his face. Despite him being the oldest at twenty-two, he looked younger than you did at that moment. “We’ve got to get out of here,” he breathed.

“We can’t go all together.” A louder growl emanated from just beyond the doors. “It’ll be like Thanksgiving dinner if we do that.”

Alex let out a snort. The familiar sound gave you a tiny ounce of comfort. “You don’t even know what Thanksgiving is.”

“I know it’s got to do with food, which is what we’ll be if we don’t figure out what to do.”

A car roaring down the main road jarred you from your memories. You blinked, having been so caught up in your thoughts that you hadn’t realized just how far you’d walked. It drove on down the road, showing no signs that it had noticed you or cared if it had. You breathed out a sigh of relief. It took another two minutes for you to muster up the courage to leave the safety of the trees and to start walking down the side of the road.

It was hard work. The sun was beating down on your back. The box was growing heavier and heavier with each step. Christ, you really should’ve thought this one through.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but it seemed like no matter how long you walked, the town was still out of sight. You started wishing for a miracle when a car slowed down beside you.

“Hey kid, you need a ride?”

You turned around, squinting in the sun to get a good look at the vehicle. Your eyes flickered across the lettering along the side, the words letting fear settle into your stomach. You moved your attention to the man at the wheel. He had a small smile on his face and a kind of scraggly beard thing going on. You focused a little, reaching out just enough to get a read on him. It was difficult to focus that much when the sweat was literally dripping off of your face and your arms were wrapped around the box. But it was enough.

“Where you headed?” You asked, taking a step forward. You were close enough that you could just feel the blessed air conditioning.

“Into town. I can drop you off if you’re headed in.” It took you a second, but you gave a sharp nod of your head to answer him. “Throw the box in the back, then climb up front.”

It took you a few seconds to maneuver the box onto your knee and then open the backdoor without dropping anything, but you managed. Your arms ached with the sweet relief. Slamming the door shut, you practically leaped into the front seat once that door was open. The air was frigid and perfect, cold enough that it felt like it froze the sweat right on your face. You shut the door fast, and rolled the window up almost the instant it was shut. The backpack shoved against your back, making it so you couldn’t sit back the whole way. You kept it on, though, just in case.

“So what’s in the box?” He asked as the car started forward.

“My grandpa’s records. My mom wants me to see what we can get for them.” The lie fell off of your tongue easily. The man nodded his head.

“Your grandpa got good taste?”

You shrugged. “I think there’s some Sinatra in there, and some Ella Fitzgerald?” You spoke like you were trying to remember what the records had said, but really, you were just trying to remember what some of the doctors had said when it came to music. Lush, green trees were a blur outside of the window. It was pretty.

If you weren’t in a cop car, you might have even been able to relax.

“Ah, so your grandpa was into the older stuff, then.”

“Uh, yeah. The older stuff.” You tried to wrack your brain for the years. Was Sinatra in the fifties? Or seventies? Or forties?

“My old man was into that jazz stuff.” Jazz! That’s what it was. The thirties and forties, then. “Really big into Benny Goodman. You ever hear of him?” You shook your head. “Oh, I bet you’d like him. He was great.”

The conversation drifted off after that. The two of you were content to sit there in the air conditioning, watching as the car finally started to enter town.

“You’re headed to the record store, right?”

“Um, yeah.” You’d been planning on going to the first pawn shop you saw, but a record store was even better. They’d be able to give you even more money if they were good records. And you’d made sure that the ones you’d picked were in pristine condition.

He took a left from the main road onto some smaller side road. There were plenty of shops with people bustling around. You blinked and for a split second, you weren’t in the police car; instead, you were in the back of a van looking out at the world around you for the first time while you were ten years old and handcuffed to the door. Another blink, and everything came back into focus. You turned to the man and stared at him. His mouth was moving.

“Huh?”

“I said, you need help carrying those inside?”

You shook your head so hard your hair flew into your face. “Nope, I’m good.” He pulled up in front of a storefront that read  _rebel records_  in all lowercase letters.

“You sure about that? I could help you bring them in. That backpack of yours looks pretty heavy.” He held your gaze in a way that made you shrink a little, like he knew that you were lying about something.

You reached towards the handle and hesitated. He was nice. He seemed like the kind of nice where you could tell him everything that had happened. The kind of nice that meant that he’d actually try to help you.

The kind of nice that would eventually get him killed if he did try to help you.

“No, I’m good. Thank you, though” You opened up the door and stepped out. The air hit you like a humid brick wall. It was almost enough to make you climb back into the car. But you took in a deep breath and closed the door behind you. When you grabbed the handle for the backdoor, it was so hot that you winced. “Fuck,” you mumbled, jerking your head up to make sure that no one was close enough to you to hear. You pulled it open, stealing all of the cold air that was leaking out.

“Hey, kid?” He called as you had an arm around the box. You looked up, your eyes meeting his. “If you need anything, you call the police department and ask for the sheriff, all right?”

“Okay.” You were shooting for a breezy tone, but it came out more shaky than anything else. The two of you regarded each other for a long moment before you tugged the box out fully. “Thanks again for the ride.”

You shut the door before he could respond.

Your head was pounding against your chest as you walked up onto the sidewalk and towards the shop. You were waiting for the inevitable, for him to get a call on his radio or to realize that the records were stolen or a hundred other things that could go wrong. But nothing happened. A few seconds passed, and the police officer drove off while you heaved out a sigh of relief. Things were fine. Hell, they might have even been looking up in your favor. You stepped over to the door, tightening your grip on the box with one arm while the other loosened up enough for you to get the door open, sliding in just before it shut behind you.

The record shop was old and dusty. Notes drifted from out of a record player that was behind the counter. You scrunched up your nose a little as you tried to place it. It sounded just familiar enough, like you’d heard it a few times in the background while you were driving from one place or another.

Doctor Arayed had always liked listening to music while she worked. She’d always be humming softly as she looked over blood samples, or when she’d push back the hair from your eyes. You could remember her always telling you the artists. Your favorite was always —

“Bowie?”

You blinked. A blond-haired man was standing in front of you, eyebrows raised. He was behind the counter, his forearms leaning on it as he shot you a small smirk. He was cocky, the sheer confidence coming off of him almost like a stench.

“I’m sorry, what?” You asked as you walked towards him, frowning a little.

“Bowie, that’s who’s playing. You like him?”

“Uh, yeah. I like him. He’s alright.” You set the box of records on the counter, heaving out a sigh as the man continued on.

“He’s a legend. You looking to buy any albums of his?” He leaned forward, his smirk growing. You could feel it, the way he was almost pushing the charm out of himself. It was impressive. He must’ve made decent money.

“I’m selling, actually. If you couldn’t tell by the box of records.”

He raised a brow. “Really? What’ve you got, sweetheart?” Someone let out a snort to your left. Glancing over, you paused.

He was behind a rack of records. You could only see him from his waist up, but he looked like he owned the place. Perfectly messy hair, a dark gray t-shirt hanging off of his shoulders like it was made for him, and a small smirk that made your heart stutter. He glanced up from the record that was in his hands and locked eyes with you. His smirk shifted into a smile.

You looked away, back to mullet-man.

“I don’t know, really. They were my grandpa’s.” You slung your backpack around and set it on the ground, your shoulders and back practically singing at the freedom. Crouching down, you braced yourself as you unzipped the bag. Just sell the records, and get back to the cabin. Easy-peasy.

It took you a few seconds of trying to tug them out before giving up and just setting the whole bag on the counter beside the box. “My mom wanted to see what I could get for them.”

He reached out for them, pausing just above the bag as he glanced to you. You nodded your head, effectively giving him permission to just shove his hands in there. The records didn’t have any names that you recognized, but then again, you were bad at recognizing names when it came to music.

He pulled them out one by one, turning them around in his hands. “These all play?”

“Yeah, I tried them all out myself.” Your words came out too fast, and your heart gave a little jolt as he looked up at you. His brow furrowed, and he opened his mouth to say something when you narrowed your eyes. You concentrated, that familiar feeling swelling in your chest. “They’re  _fine_.”

“They’re fine,” he parroted, shooting you a grin. He looked back down to the albums, thumbing through them a little faster. They were fine, after all. “So these look — your nose is bleeding.” You froze and wiped the back of your hand under your nose. When you pulled it away, dark liquid was smeared across. “Here.” You looked back across the counter and took the tissue from him.

“Thanks,” you said as you dabbed at the area. “The air’s pretty dry in here. It’s killing my nose.”

“Yeah, it’s a pain in the ass during the winter. Right now’s not too bad, though.”

“So, how much do you think that you can give me for the records?”

He shrugged. “Twenty bucks sound good to you?”

“Twenty dollars, are you kidding me? That’s less than a buck a record!” There were at least thirty-five or forty records there. That was ridiculous.

“They’re used, though. New ones are sold for nine bucks.I can go twenty-five, but that’s it.” You blinked.

“I need at least fifty.”

“Fifty dollars, are you shitting me? That’s insane. Look, I’ll go twenty-seven, but that’s as high as I can go.”

The boy with the perfect hair fumbled with some records, reminding you that he was there. You glanced over, noting that he was watching the exchange curiously. The tissue was still in your hand. You took care to lower your voice and said, “Please. I need fifty. I’m begging you.”

“No way, sweetheart. That’s too high. I’m gonna give you the best deal around, so take it or leave it.” What an asshole. You leaned forward a little, placing your left hand on his arm so it was behind the pile of records, just out of the other guy’s sight.

You focused, feeling the power rising up into your chest. “They’re in good condition,” you murmured, the  _force_ of your words coming out strong. “You’ll do fifty dollars.” A thought occurred to you. “And you’ll keep your voice low.” He blinked his head a few times, looking from your hand on his arm to the pile of records and then finally back to your face.

“You know what? They’re in pretty good condition,” he said. He was quiet, thank God. “I can do fifty.” You pulled away from him and he shook his head a little before shooting you a blinding smile. He’d be kind of cute without the rat’s nest of a mullet.

“Oh wow, thank you. Seriously. That’s a huge help.” Reaching up, you wiped the fresh blood away from your nose. Your head ached a little. Some food would be a good idea.

“No problem. I’m Billy, by the way. Billy Hargrove.” He shot you another smile, his gaze flickering over you in a way that made you duck your head.

“I’m Elise. Elise Peters.” In that instant, you were thankful that the three of you had decided on fake names before getting to Hawkins. Granted, no one would really believe that the three of you were siblings, but it was better than nothing. You grabbed the now empty backpack and slung it over your shoulders. Billy was rifling through the cash register, softly counting the bills out loud until he had the right amount.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Elise,” he said, shooting you a grin while holding out the money. When you took it from him, he made sure to brush his fingers against yours.

It took all you had in you to keep from rolling your eyes.

“You too, Billy.”

With that you were heading towards the door. You risked another glance over to the guy with the hair, feeling your heart stutter a little more when you locked eyes with him. It took you a beat to pull your gaze away and step out into the hot spring air.

Meanwhile, Steve turned to Billy, eyebrows raised while he waited for the girl to leave before speaking. “You ever seen her around before?” He asked. Billy just shrugged as he thumbed through the new acquisitions. “What’d you give her for those?”

Billy shrugged again. “Fifty.”

“ _Fifty_ dollars? Are you kidding me? That’s insane.” He walked over and started going through the pile that Billy had already made. The more he went through them, the more in shock he was. “Dude, you’re gonna get fired. There’s no way Jenkins is gonna keep you on after this.”

“Oh, that’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it, Stevie? I get fired and you can work here in peace.” Billy watched as Steve’s hands stilled as he stared down at a record. “What?”

“Holy shit, you are fucked.”

“… What?”

“You do know that she just sold you stolen records, right?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at Billy.

“I’m pretty sure that I would’ve noticed if she was selling me stolen records. Fuck off, Harrington.”

Steve flipped over the album that was on top of the pile and pointed to some scrawled letters in black marker. “ _J. Hopper._  She look like the sheriff to you, dumbass?” Just to really drive it home, Steve turned the cardboard box around to show him the same lettering. Billy’s face paled as he stared at the box.

“Fuck, I’m fucked. I gave her a decent amount too. Shit, do you think that Hopper will be able to get the money back?” All Billy got was a stare instead of a response. “What? Do you think that he’ll be able to get it back?”

“Do you think that Hopper will be able to get the money that you gave to some girl from out of town that  _stole_  his records to you — even though they have his name on them?”

Billy let out a groan and clapped his hand over his face. “I’m screwed. I’m absolutely screwed.”

“Maybe if you would’ve actually learned how to read, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

Billy stared at Steve for a few moments before letting his forehead hit the counter. “Der urr thint thut yer culd-”

“You gotta lift your head up, man. I can’t understand what you’re saying.” Billy lifted his head up nice and slow, fixing Steve with a frown.

“Do you think that you could tell Hopper for me? It’ll sound better coming from the golden boy.”

“Why would I do that for you? Give me one good reason for why the hell I would ever do that for you.”

“Because last summer I saved your ass from one of those demogorgon things.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “You can’t keep bringing that up. It’s not like you just get to reuse that excuse over and over again.”

“Oh, well then next time, I’ll let it eat you, nice and slow. How’s that sound, Harrington?” Billy shot him a smug smile, like he had him.

“Better than being near you, Hargrove.”

Billy’s smile dropped. He ran a hand over his face and let out a shuddered breath. “Steve, seriously, I need this job. I don’t know — I have no idea how I missed Hopper’s writing, or why the fuck I sold them to her for that much. I just… I’m screwed if I get fired. Can you help me get the money back?” He asked as the door opened up.

“What, you sold my records already, Mr. Hargrove?”

Hopper’s voice carried across the room, loud enough to make both boys jump. “You — they — you know?” Billy asked, almost like he was going to start babbling apologies.

“Of course I know. I saw her walking along the road with a box that had my name plastered along the side. I can read, I’m not an idiot.” Steve snickered. “I even gave her a ride here. Thought she might come clean.”

Billy was fidgeting behind the counter, enough that it caught Steve’s attention. “So what are you gonna do?” He asked, hoping it’d put Billy at ease.

“Head back up to the cabin and see if she’s staying out there. They’re all the ones I left behind, so I figured that that’s where she’s at.” Hopper walked over to the counter, looking over the records. “How much you give her for them?”

“… Fifty.”

“You don’t know shit about music, do you, kid?” Billy opened his mouth to argue with the sheriff, but his shoulders drooped. “Don’t worry about it, kid. We’ve all been duped by a girl with a pretty face.” He looked over to Steve and nodded to the door. “I thought I heard Dustin say that your shift ends at three?”

“Yeah, as long as it’s not busy.”

Hopper gave a pointed look around the empty store — save for the three of them — and turned to the clock. “It’s ten ‘til now. I think Hargrove here can handle things while you come with me.”

“Why do you need me, though?” Steve ran his fingers through his hair, his lips pressed together into a thin line.

“She looks to be about your age. I figure it might make her easier to talk to if someone her age is there.” Billy opened his mouth to ask the inevitable question, but Hopper beat him to the punch. “You’re not coming for a whole lot of reasons, but the biggest one is that you still have to work.”

“Look, I don’t care who goes. I just need that money back.”

Hopper took a long look at Billy, his gaze easing up just a little. “You’ll get it back, don’t worry about it.” He started for the door, Steve following after him. They remained quiet until they got into the car, with Steve breaking the silence.

“So did you ever look into what I said, about Max and Billy’s dad?”

Hopped nodded his head as he turned the key, the engine rumbling to life. “Yeah, but nothing panned out. Domestic abuse is hard to pin down. Joyce just makes sure that Max is somewhere other than home for the most of the time. That’s about all I can do for now.”

Steve let out a quiet hum. “So we’re heading to the cabin?”

“To the cabin.

• • • • • • • • •

Some nice older lady had given you a ride close to where the dirt road leading up to the cabin was. You’d had her drop you off about a half mile down the main road, at some random house just to make sure that she wouldn’t think anything of it.

She’d been nice. A little nosey, but nice all the same.

You did the same as before, keeping just beyond the treeline so you’d be out of sight if anyone drove up there. But the cabin had looked like it had been empty for months when you’d gotten there two nights ago. Dust had covered everything. The lights had taken a few seconds to come on. Most of it was empty anyway. There were some cardboard boxes filled with stuff, like someone had started to move but never fully finished. The pantry and freezer had been stocked, though. There was even some stuff in the refrigerator. Thinking back on it, it’s a good thing that Seb hadn’t eaten that pudding. Who knows how old it could have been?

Just like earlier, the roar of an engine pulled you from your thoughts. But this one made you freeze.

The same car that had given you a ride into town earlier was driving up the dirt road. It was going a little too fast for you to make out who was in it, but it wasn’t hard to figure out.

You started running straight through the bramble patches, the thorns tearing at the exposed skin on your arms, a few getting your face as well. The sting was sharp, but you kept going. Your breath was coming out in pants as you jumped over a fallen long. Your foot caught on the branch, making you trip and hit the ground hard.

“Fuck,” you muttered, changing tactics. You got up and ran to the left, towards the dirt road. The second you broke through the trees you turned to head up it. You pushed yourself through the ache in your legs, through the pain in your arms and face until you saw the car parked in front of the cabin.

You couldn’t breathe. You could hear a muffled yell, and then Tee’s voice. It was impossible to make out what she was saying, but the closer you got, the clearer it was. The curtains were drawn open, like they’d been looking out the window. You could make out two imposing figures near them, but neither of them were near the door.

Launching yourself onto the porch, you ran inside, skidding to a stop when you saw the scene that stretched out before you.

Seb and Tee were backed up against the wall, eyes wide. Seb had tears running down his cheeks while Tee had her arms around him, protective and ready to lash out the second anyone moved. The cop from earlier was there, his hands held out in front of him. The guy with the perfect hair was there too, just behind the cop. You were pretty sure that the cop was saying something, but it was hard to tell with the dull roar sounding in your ears.

You couldn’t think of what to do. You looked back over to Seb, whose whole body was trembling. But then you saw something even more concerning.

His nose was bleeding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments feed writers.
> 
> this is also posted over at my tumblr: hairringtonsteve.tumblr.com! i've got way more fics over there, and am slowly going to be adding them to my Ao3 account.


	3. ii. sound and vision.

“Seb, no!” Somewhere behind you, something heavy clattered to the ground. You shoved passed the sheriff and the other guy, darting to Seb. His arms wrapped around your waist as he shoved his face into your side, muffling his sobs. You could feel him rubbing his face against your shirt to wipe the blood and snot away from his nose. Tee was looking at you, her whole body trembling. “Let me handle this,” you murmured, giving her a small nod.

You turned around, shifting so you were partially shielding Tee and Seb. The sheriff raised his eyebrows at you, lifting his hands a little to show that he was unarmed, like you were some skittish animal that he was dealing with.

“Why are you kids here?”

“Why are you here?” You fired back, your voice shrill. You could see the gun on the sheriff’s hip, the sight of it sending a sharp pang of fear through you. “You can’t do this without a warrant.” Doctor Arayed had yelled that once when people from the military had visited the lab once, years ago. The same tension that had been in her voice then was in your voice now. “You can’t just do this.”

“Look, kid, don’t start with me. You’re already trespassing on private property and you tried to sell stolen records at the record shop. Just tell me why you’re here.”

You glanced over to the other guy that was with the sheriff, realizing it was the one from the shop. He’d been the one that was looking through the records, the one with the nice hair. You glared at him.

“What, did he tell you that?” You asked, motioning to him. “His buddy was just probably annoyed that he overpaid for the records. They were my records.”

“I thought you said they were your grandpa’s records?” The guy piped up.

Your glare turned into a scowl. “They were my grandpa’s and he gave them to me, dumbass,” you snapped.

The guy put his hands on his hips and frowned. “You sure about —”

“Harrington, can it,” the sheriff snapped.

“But she—”

“Would you shut the hell up?” The words flew out of your mouth just as the sheriff said the same thing. Your heart was pounding in your chest as you glanced over to the gun that was on the sheriff’s hip once more. The easiest way to get it away from him would be to use Seb, but he was still firmly attached to your side, his fists bunching into your shirt as he trembled.

“They’re your grandpa’s records?” The sheriff clarified. You gave a sharp nod of your head. “The records were your grandfather’s, and what? This his cabin too?”

“Yeah, it’s his.”

“You sure about that?”

The tension was swirling through the air. Tee had her hand pressed against the back of your shirt, and you could feel the inhuman amount of heat coming from her. You took your foot and tried to subtly jab it into her leg behind you. She let out a little yelp, but got the message. The heat receded. The sheriff was still looking at you with a frown, and it was as though you could feel this whole thing unraveling, second by second.

“You’re sure that this is your grandfather’s cabin?” The sheriff asked once more.

There was one day when one of the new scientists had let you sneak into the breakroom and watch some movie about cowboys. This one had been in color. You’d sat curled up on a plastic chair, legs stretched out on another chair as you watched the scenes play out. You’d been fascinated by the entire thing, but the finale had been your favorite. Somewhere near the end of the movie, there had been this big standoff between everyone. Everyone was standing in a circle, all with their guns aimed at each other, ready to kill each other in an attempt to live.

This reminded you of that.

You were Blondie, the sheriff was Angel Eyes, and the guy that the sheriff had called Harrington was Tuco — except for the fact that he wasn’t ugly.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you could almost hear the music.

“I’m positive.”

The sheriff shook his head and sighed. “C’mon, kid. Cut the shit.”

“I’m not lying to you. This is my grandfather’s—”

“No, this is my grandfather’s cabin.”

Oh.

Oh.

“Prove it.” Your voice shook despite your hardest efforts. Seb dug his nails into your side through your shirt, hard enough that you almost winced. He was mumbling something, just soft enough for you to catch.

“I don’t wanna go back.”

“You see that box over there, with the books?” The sheriff continued on, unaware of Seb’s words as he pointed to a cardboard box in the corner of the room. “You see what it says?” In thick, black marker the word HOPPER was scrawled messily on the side. “I’m Hopper. Those are my books, and those were my records that you sold earlier today.” The room was quiet save for the crickets starting to come to life outside. A breeze floated through the open door. “You want to try again this time? Why are you here?”

This was it. The panic was rising within you and your mind went blank. He was going to call the feds and they were going to come get the three of you and you’d be handcuffed in the back of a van again and you couldn’t breathe and —

And suddenly Seb wasn’t shoved into your side anymore. He was darting towards the open door, his little legs carrying him as fast as they could. Hopper noticed him a second too late, missing as he went to grab him. Seb was almost outside when another set of arms wrapped around his side, lifting him up into the air and holding on tight.

“I’ve got him!” Harrington yelled, struggling to hold on tight. Seb was kicking his legs in all directions, just like you’d taught him to.

“Seb!” Tee yelled, moving to go forward. She pushed passed you, stopping only when you grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back.

“You can’t,” you hissed, giving her an imploring look. Her escalating things would only make things worse. You looked over to the sheriff and Harrington, an unrelenting fury racing through you at the sight of Seb thrashing around like that. “Let him go.”

“You tell us why you’re here, and we’ll let him go,” Hopper said, giving you a pointed look. You tried to remember what the three of you had talked about, but it was hard to recall when Seb started kicking even harder and screaming. Tears were streaming down his face as he continued to move.

“Lemme go, lemme go! Get away!” Blood started streaming from his nose, covering the blood that had started to dry from earlier.

Fuck.

“Our parents… They… They hurt us,” Tee said, jerking her shoulder away from your grasp. Seb quieted down a little at the sound of her voice, slowing down just enough for the two of you to make eye contact. You shook your head at him. Seb frowned, opening his mouth to argue but you shook your head once more. He kept jerking around, but the trickle of blood stopped.

“They hurt you?” Hopper asked, furrowing his brow as he looked to her, not even noticing what was going on between you and Seb. Harrington, however, was fixing you with a weird look, his eyebrows pushed together as he tried to keep Seb still.

“We had to get out.” She tugged the sleeve of her shirt up to reveal a nasty gash on her arm. The stitches were messy. You’d done them yourself. “We had to get him out.”

Hopper looked between the two of you, his gaze settling on you once more. He looked at you long and hard before turning to Harrington. “Let him go.”

Harrington dropped his knees a little to set Seb on the floor. The second he loosened his arms Seb was jerking them away from him and sprinting back to you.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, El. I just got scared ‘n the door was right there ‘n…” He trailed off, the snot and blood streaming together in a giant mess. You crouched down and set both of your hands on his shoulders.

“Hey, you were brave, okay?” You whispered, offering him a small smile. “You did exactly what I told you to do, and that was to try and get away.” You leaned forward and pressed a small kiss against his forehead.

Hopper ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Where are you kids from?”

“Muncie.” You’d seen the sign for the town a few days ago and had thought it sounded weird. He looked to where you were still crouching, holding your gaze for a few moments too long, like he was trying to suss out the truth.

“Muncie. Huh,” he said after a few seconds of deliberation.

You tilted your chin up a little bit, jutting out your jaw as you waited for him to continue on. You didn’t even have to reach out to pick up on his emotions. They were swirling around him, all together in a giant mess.

He glanced over to Harrington. Harrington raised his eyebrows and offered Hopper a shrug of his shoulders. Turning back to the three of you, Hopper let out a slow breath. “Ummm…” He trailed off, gathering his thoughts. “All right, look. Whatever’s going on with you kids, I’m in no position to do anything about it tonight. You three stay here for the night, and we’ll figure all of this out in the morning. Deal?”

It was too good to be true. There was no logical way that he would just let the three of you stay there without doing anything. But despite everything, he still felt trustworthy to you, just like he had in the car earlier that day. Seb was leaning against you by then, making it harder to keep your balance. The three of you needed sleep and a place to stay for the night, so you ignored the imploring look that Tee was giving you, and nodded your head.

“Deal.”

• • • • • • • • •

The couch in the cabin was uncomfortable.

It was lumpy and bumpy, the fabric covering it making you itch the second you sat down. It wasn’t comfortable by any means and sleeping on it would have been near impossible. So it worked out, then, that you’d ended up staying awake the entire night anyway. You’d lain there in the dark, counting the ticks from the clock in the counter while you stared up at the dark ceiling. It was easier to blame the lack of sleep on the couch rather than the fact that you were positive that they were going to come slamming through the doors and get the three of you once more.

At some point, the sun had started to crawl up into the sky and cast little beams of light through the curtains.

You rolled over onto your side, huffing softly as you shoved your face into the rough couch cushion. Last night had been a shit show.

An absolute shit show.

It was hard to pinpoint what had been the worst part of it. You turned it over and over in your head, but it was all jumbled up into one steaming pile of crap. All you kept seeing was Seb’s face screwed up, tears sliding down his cheeks as blood dripped from his nose. What if you’d gotten there a few seconds late? What if he’d really hurt Hopper? What if he’d managed to kill someone? How was he supposed to live with that or understand it? Your heart gave a painful squeeze at the mere thought of it.

You needed to get it together.

A knock at the door made you jump up, shoving the blanket away only to cause it to pool around your legs, making you almost trip. The knock sounded again, this time more insistent. You kicked at the blanket as you stepped forward. Peeking through the curtain, you caught Hopper’s gaze. He shot you a frown.

“Would you relax, kid? I brought you breakfast.” He held up a plastic bag with what looked to be various containers in them. “Now open the door.”

You scrunched up your nose as you let the curtain drop away and reached over to slide the bolt to the right. You turned the lock on the doorknob, opening it up to reveal Hopper offering you a small smile. “Thought you guys might want some real food.”

“Oh. Thanks,” you said, eyeing him warily as you stepped aside. He walked over to the counters, dropping everything next to the sink.

“Where are the other two?” He asked as you shut the door.

Instinct told you to lie, to say that they were outside playing or that they’d left in the middle of the night over some argument. But you glanced over to the clock. It was a little after seven.

And he still felt trustworthy.

“They’re sleeping in the bedroom.” You crossed your arms, watching him. He was grabbing styrofoam containers and laying them out in a line. “What’s in there?”

He turned to look at you over his shoulder before nodding towards the food. “Come over here and check it out. I didn’t know what you guys liked, so I got a little of everything from the diner that’s down the road.” He stepped away from the food, crossing the kitchen to start rummaging through a drawer. You waited until he was engrossed in what he was doing before you stepped over to the containers. One by one you opened them up, a sharp stab of hunger hitting your stomach every time you laid your eyes on the different kinds of food. Pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage — even some stuff you didn’t know — all there for you and the others to eat.

You settled on the one with waffles and bacon.

Turning around, you jumped to realize that Hopper had made his way back to the food. “Here,” he said, holding out a fork and a knife. “You can eat while we talk.”

It wasn’t until you were situated at the table that he walked over and took the seat across from you, setting a mug in front of you before putting the other in front of him. You hadn’t noticed it before, but he must’ve had a thermos shoved in the bag as well since he started pouring steaming coffee into your mug. It was already a lighter brown color, so he must’ve added some milk beforehand. It was a nice thought.

You kept your gaze focused on your plate as you shove a piece of bacon into your mouth. It was hard not to groan at the taste of it — real, actual bacon that was practically melting in your mouth. You couldn’t help the grin that flickered across your lips.

“It’s good, right?” He asked. You glanced over to him. His eyes were fixed on you as he lifted his mug up to take a drink.

“Uh, yeah. It is.” There was a part of you that wanted to play it cool, to not show that you’d been living off of nothing but what had been in the cabin. There was another part of you — a larger part of you — that wanted to say screw it and shovel bacon into your mouth. So you did, taking a large bite of it while your stomach thanked you. “Why aren’t you eating anything?” You asked after you’d swallowed.

“I already ate.”

You bobbed your head as you took the third piece of bacon and ate that too. There was a little container of syrup that made your eyes widen. For a second, you almost forgot that he was even there. Tearing off the cover, you dumped it onto the waffle. Your stomach growled. You grabbed your fork and used it to saw off a piece of waffle before stuffing it into your mouth. Without a word, Hopper slid over a plastic container. He took the lid off, revealing a stick of room-temperature butter.

“Holy shit,” you mumbled through a mouth full of food. Your eyes flicked over to Hopper, wide and sheepish. “Sorry,” you said as you swallowed.

He shook his head and chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. My girl likes waffles too.”

You raised a brow. That explained all the waffles. “You got a kid?”

“Yeah, I got a kid. Her name’s Jane.” He watched as you grabbed your knife and used it to get a huge chunk of butter onto it. You slathered it onto the waffle as he continued on. “What about you? You got a kid?”

“They’re my siblings,” you said, pausing in your movements to make a face at him.

“I didn’t — I wasn’t saying that,” he grumbled. “It just seems odd to me that a couple of kids end up here from uh, where was it? Merrillville?”

“Muncie.” You continued to butter the waffle, glancing between your food and Hopper. It wasn’t that hard to figure out what he was doing. Your story was sketchy at best.

And he knew it.

“Right, Muncie.” He hummed, drumming his fingers against his coffee mug. He took a sip from it, nodding his head slow as he set it back down. “You mind telling me what happened that made you leave?” Hopper asked, raising a brow at you.

You paused.

It was hard dropping from the heating vents onto the ground. The fluorescent lights were flickering in the hallway, the dark streaks of blood marring the walls. Vee had miscalculated the height and twisted her ankle when she jumped. You craned your neck to see her. She had one hand clamped around her mouth to stifle any cries while the other was blindly feeling for her ankle. Your heart was stuttering in your chest. Somewhere nearby, there was the scuffling sound of someone — or something — moving.

“You alright?” You asked, soft in the darkness.

“It fuckin’ hurts.” She was mumbling her words, but it was hard to tell if it was just to keep quiet, or to make sure that she didn’t alert the things to her presence. She squeezed her eyes shut and moved her hand from her mouth to the floor to drag herself away.

You waited until she was far enough out of the way to hop down yourself. Relaxing your legs as you hopped down made the jump easier. It still stung, but it wasn’t as jarring. You let your body go limp as you hit the ground. “Fuck me, that hurt,” you muttered. Vee let out a snort.

“Right?” She winced as she moved to sit up. Her ankle was swollen. “We’re gonna need shoes. And an ankle brace, if there is one.”

“There should be one in the supply closet. You wait here, I’ll go grab it.” You stood up, grunting a little at the ache in your shoulder. Rolling it back made it hurt worse. That was great. You glanced around for a moment and frowned. “Will you be all right out here?”

“I’ll be fine. You saw how I took out the thing. I’ll be good.”

You watched her for a moment and frowned. You could feel the fear rolling off of her in waves, but calling out her false bravado wasn’t going to help with anything. “Just keep your back to the wall, okay?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine, mom. Go.” You gave her a lingering look before starting down the hall.

The supply closet was only two doors down, but it felt like the hallway stretched on forever. There were memories carved into the tile flooring. You couldn’t count how many times you’d walked down them, whether it be to help with an experiment, or to get some bloodwork done. For years, it had your favorite place to be. It had been home.

But then Brenner had arrived.

And now there were bloody handprints on the walls and bodies littering the ground.

You set your foot down, too focused on the blood dripping from a broken window to pay attention. A sharp pain shot through it, making you freeze. “Shit.” You looked through the window into Doctor Lepner’s office. The emergency lighting was on, flashing on and off, but there wasn’t any movement. For the time being, it was safe. You lifted your foot gingerly off the ground. A large shard of glass was stuck in it.

Sucking in a deep breath, you hopped the handful of feet over to the supply closet and opened the door. It was almost pitch black in there, so you left the door open a crack for light. The glass was the first thing that needed to be taken care of. You bit down on your lip and pulled it out, like ripping off a bandaid. You could feel it scrape against your skin, the jagged edges tearing a little as it came out. Blood gushed and you fumbled for a first aid kit.

Thankfully, all of the supply closets in the building were laid out the same. You grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and dumped it onto your foot, trying not to scream as it began to disinfect the wound. It stung and it burned, but at least it wasn’t like getting bit by one of those things. You felt around until your fingers found some of the medical tape. That could work. You began to wind the tape around your foot, keeping it tight to stop the bleeding.

At some point while you were winding, you could hear it — a crunch on the glass.

It was heavy, like the thud of combat boots hitting the ground. Your mind raced. It sounded like two sets of boots. You couldn’t breathe.

“There’s one.” You shrunk back against the wall, praying to whatever higher being there was to save you. God, Allah, Buddha, whatever the hell a saint was; you didn’t care who it was that saved you, just that it did. But then another thought occurred to you.

Vee was still out there.

They weren’t talking about you.

They were talking about her.

“C’mere, sweetheart. No one’s going to hurt you.” That was a lie. The voice — it sounded male, but you couldn’t be sure — had tension lacing through it. You shifted a little to peek through the crack. Two barrels of a rifle came into view. What was there to do? If you stepped out, it was two against one. You’d never manipulated two people at once before. And even if you managed to get the one, the other could still shoot you or Vee.

“Then put down the guns,” Vee said. Her voice was wavering. Where there was tension and anxiety radiating from the two men, it was nothing but fear when it came to Vee.

“Just stand up and come here. We won’t hurt you.”

“I can’t stand up. My ankle got rolled.” There was a pause. “Just put the guns down and help me.”

“You come here.”

“Did you not hear me, dumbass? My ankle is fucked. I’m not moving on my own.” Jesus, Vee. She’d always had a hard time keeping her mouth shut. For once in her life, she just needed to shut up.

“Then crawl.”

The men continued down the hallway. You watched them pass, holding your breath until they were a few feet away. It was difficult to see passed them, but they came to a stop. Just beyond their shoulders, you could see Vee moving to stand. It took her a few moments. They were long moments, stretching on forever as she grunted and whimpered.

You realized that she’d hurt a lot worse on the fall than just her ankle.

“Come here.” It was the man on the left that spoke. He’d straightened up as the words came out, his grip on the gun tightening.

“Where are my friends?”

“They’re safe. We’ll take you to them.” A spike of nerves shot through the man so hard you felt it yourself. You hadn’t even had to reach out to feel his emotions. It was just there and screaming at you, a blaring red beacon flashing LIE LIE LIE over and over again.

“I find that hard to bel-“ Her words got cut off, strangled to a stop. You took a risk and opened the door a little wider. A third man in combat armor had his arm around her neck, a handgun pressed against her head.

You hadn’t thought about checking the other end of the hallway.

“I’ve got her. I’ll take her to the containment unit, you two finish the sweep of the floor.” The third man had started to move, but Vee dropped her weight, making him almost tip over.

Everything that happened next was in flashes. One second the third man was going to yell at her, the next blood was rushing out of Vee’s nose. Her eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring as she gave a sharp snap of her head. The pair of men’s necks followed. It was a sharp crunch that echoed through the hallway. Their bodies fell to the floor, guns clattering on the ground. One was looking right at you; his eyes were wide open, staring at nothing. Dead.

You couldn’t breathe. Your body trembled in that darkness as the seconds seemed to stretch on and on. The man that had an arm around her neck still stood there, staring at the sight that lay before him. His arm loosened a little and you could hear Vee gasping for breath. You could feel his fear mingling with hers, almost to the point of fogging up your brain. Maybe he’d let her go. Maybe the two of you could escape.

A gunshot rang out.

Vee’s body slumped to the ground. Reddish-brownish liquid poured from her head. You could see it from where you were, staining the white tile. The man stood above her, staring down at her lifeless form before he started off the opposite way down the hall.

The seconds felt like years until he rounded the corner. You waited a few more just to be safe, and then you were swinging the door open and running out, ignoring the sting of your foot. “Vee, Vee, Vee,” you mumbled, tears making their way down your cheeks. Your knees hit the tile, streaking her blood as you grabbed her hand. Nothing made sense. “Wake up.” Nothing was happening. “Please wake up.”

It was hard to tell how long you were there for. It could have only been a few minutes, but it felt months. Something went numb inside of you. You let your fingertips drift over her eyelids, shutting them gently. You pressed a kiss against her forehead, your thumb brushing against her skin.

It was still warm.

“Elise?” Hopper prompted. You looked down at your food for a moment before back to him.

“Dad got drunk,” you said, starting off soft. “He got drunk a lot, and get pissed at my mom for not making him a turkey pot pie…” You trailed off, trying to remember how the rest of that line from that movie that the three of you had snuck into ended up. “Mom was bad too, but it wasn’t — she —” You made your voice crack a little to buy yourself some time. What was it that the character — was it Bender? — had said? Something about a cigarette? “Seb spilled paint in the garage and Dad was smoking a cigar, so he was gonna take it and, well, you know?” You said, miming holding a cigar and jabbing it at him.

“Jesus,” Hopper said, sighing. He sat back in his chair, fixing you with a concerned gaze. Guilt twisted in your gut, turning it sour. “He get him?”

You shook your head. “No, I wouldn’t let him. But after that, we were out. Like I said. I took them, and we left Muncie.”

Hopper took another sip of his coffee as he watched you. “Muncie’s a good ways away. How’d you make it here?”

You thought back to the car that you’d stolen, and ditched two towns over. “We took the bus and walked the rest of the way.” Did the bus even make it to Hawkins? You focused a little, forcing power into your next words. “It wasn’t a far walk. It was the easiest way.” A dull headache spread across the front of your head, making you wince. You needed some food if you were going to convince him further. But the words took hold, making him nod and blink a couple of times as though he’d just woken up.

“Makes sense,” Hopper murmured, reaching up to scratch at his scruff of a beard. “So what’s the plan here, huh? You kidnap your siblings and then…?”

“It’s not — I’m not — Look, I get that you’re the sheriff, or whatever, but can’t you just look the other way?” You were half-tempted to make him look the other way, but there was a weariness that was settling in you. If you kept pushing yourself, you’d be useless for a day or two. “We’ll leave, get out of your hair, and you never have to see us again.”

He watched you carefully, his arms resting on his legs as he leaned forward in his chair. A moment passed, and then another. You could hear Seb and Tee talking in the other room, their voices muffled. “Stay here a couple of days, rest up. I’ll bring you some food.” He ran a hand over his face. You stared at him, wide-eyed. “After that, we’ll get you some bus passes, all right?”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you helping us?” You crossed your arms over your chest, setting your jaw. You were getting nothing from him but genuine concern. It was weird.

He shrugged, taking in a deep breath through his nose and letting it out through his mouth. “You kids need it, and I’m not in the habit of neglecting my job.”

“Are you gonna call CPS?” The first time you’d heard about child protective services, you’d thought that it was a good thing. A group of people were supposed to protect children. That made sense. You’d thought they could help you.

You’d been severely wrong.

“No, kid. I won’t call CPS. The last thing you need is for the three of you to be separated.” Your shoulders sagged at his words, relief flooding through you. There was no sign that he was lying to you.

“Thank you,” you whispered, the words coming out a little cracked and broken.

He looked at you, the corners around his eyes softening a little as he watched you. “It’s no problem, kid.”

• • • • • • • • •

Two days passed, and things were almost… comfortable. You were still on edge a little. The other shoe had to drop at some point, but currently, it was nice. Seb got to actually play outside for once, and even Tee had been enjoying just laying around and doing nothing. Hopper would show up once a day with some food, usually around five or so, and check in with the three of them. He’d always crouch down when he’d talk to Seb, listening attentively as Seb would recount whatever he’d done that day. It reminded you of the dads that you’d seen on TV, how they’d act with their kids.

It made your chest ache.

“When’s Hopper getting here?” Seb asked, his hair falling down into his eyes. “I wanna show him my picture,” he said, waving the paper in the air. Tee snatched it from his hands as she walked behind him and darted out of his reach. “TEE!” He screeched, launching his body from the chair to chase after her.

Laughter filled the cabin as Tee dodged every single one of Seb’s attempts. “You’ve gotta be faster than that, squirt,” she taunted as she ran towards the couch. From the kitchen, Seb gave a sharp tilt of his head. A second later, Tee was hitting the ground hard. “Not cool, shit-for-brains.” She was ready to tear after him when you grabbed her shoulder.

“You started it, shit-for-brains,” you said, the corners of your mouth twitching into a little smirk. She went to argue back when there was a knock at the door. The three of you froze. There was a beat of silence before a “Kid, open up!” sounded through the door. Your shoulders slumped as you walked forward. Behind you, you could hear Seb taunting Tee as he took back his artwork.

“Hey, what took you so —” You cut yourself off as you opened the door, eyes widening a little when you realized that there was someone with him.

“Elise, this is Joyce, a… Friend of mine. Joyce, this is Elise.”

“Hi,” she said. There was a kindness radiating off of her that even someone without powers would feel it. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

You just stared at her for a moment before nodding your head. You stepped aside, letting the two of them walk in. As you closed the door behind them, you could hear Tee and Seb making their soft hello’s. When you turned around, Seb was back at the table with a marker in his hand while Tee shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

“I’m Theresa, Reese for short,” you heard her say, sticking to the plan — Elise, Reese, and Sebastian Smith, the runaways from Muncie. The two of them started talking a little as you made your way over to Hopper.

“Who is she?”

“A friend of mine, like I said.” He stopped taking out the food to look over to you. “Relax, kid. She works as a cashier in town. She just wanted to check on you guys, making sure that I’m feeding you right.”

“That’s only because if he could, he’d just feed you all Eggos,” Joyce chimed in from across the room. She made her way over to the refrigerator, ignoring Hopper’s words that everything was fine, and he was feeding them healthy enough.

Just as she opened the freezer to find nothing but boxes of Eggos and ice, Seb piped up. “We eat asghettios too!”

“Hop, these kids can’t live off of Spaghettios and Eggos,” Joyce said, frowning as she looked through the boxes.

“Hey, I was gonna —” Hopper started to speak before she cut him off.

“Diner food doesn’t count.” She turned around to point a finger at him. You had to clap a hand over your mouth to muffle the laughter. Glancing over to you, she cocked a brow as she shut the freezer door. “When was the last time you had a home-cooked meal?”

You blinked at her. You’d gotten food at the lab, three nutritious meals a day, but something was telling you that that wasn’t what she was talking about at all. “It’s been… awhile.”

“Would you be comfortable having dinner at our place?” She glanced over to Hopper, who was looking between the two of you with a small frown on his face. “You kids deserve to have some good food in you.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m not sure what —”

“We’ll go!” Tee said, giving you a quick, sharp grin. “We’d love to.”

“It’s settled, then. Tomorrow night. Hop will pick you up and bring you over for dinner.” She paused for a second before adding, “There’ll probably be some kids hanging around too, if that’s okay?”

It wasn’t ideal, but Tee and Seb probably needed to be around normal people for once. As you went to answer, Hopper was placing a hand on Joyce’s shoulder and nodding towards the front porch. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Instead of replying right away, Joyce looked over to him and rolled her eyes, smiling faintly. “Sure, Hop.” She turned to you and smiled. “We’ll be right back.”

The second they were outside, the three of you ran over to the window to listen in.

“Joyce, you can’t go around taking in every stray kid you find.”

“Says the man that adopted Jane.”

“That was different and you know it. We knew what the story was there, we don’t with these kids.” You leaned forward a little, trying to get a better view of the two of them without disturbing the curtain. They were almost chest to chest out on the porch, Joyce looking up at Hopper with a small smile on her face.

“It’s dinner, Hop.” She leaned up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. “Besides,” she began as she fell back onto the balls of her feet. “If I have to get one more call from Steve Harrington about how I really need to invite them over for dinner because The Party would be good for them, I’m going to lose my mind.”

You pulled away from the window a little, frowning. Harrington. You wondered if Steve Harrington was the same Harrington that had been there the other night with Hopper. You hadn’t seen him since that night, and Hopper hadn’t mentioned him again.

Your stomach twisted at the memory of him holding Seb in his arms while the kid thrashed and screamed. You shook your head and looked back out the window.

“You really think it’s a good idea to have them over for dinner just because Steve Harrington thinks he knows what he’s talking about? The kid can barely handle working at some ice cream parlor and a record store. What makes you think he’s right?”

“Well I wasn’t thinking that he was right before I got here,” she said, frowning at him. “But he’s concerned, Hop. And I am too. He said that they looked scared, that they reminded him of El.”

Seb’s finger jabbed into your side. “How can El remind him of us when you’re El?” He asked, scrunching up his face in confusion.

“Different El, dude,” you murmured.

Hopper was shaking his head when you turned your attention back outside. “I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?”

Joyce smiled up at him and shook her head. “No, you’re not.” She went on to say something else, but you missed it when Tee grabbed at your arm.

 

“Come on, they’re gonna come back in soon,” she said, pulling you away. The three of you scrambled away from the window just as the door opened. Hopper was behind Joyce as they walked in, a small smile sliding across his features. He looked to the three of you standing in front of the couch and shook his head, chuckling.

“Looks like you’re coming to dinner.”

“If that’s all right,” Joyce added, giving you a warm smile. “It’s okay if you don’t.”

There was only a moment of hesitation before you nodded your head. “It looks like we’re going to dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments feed writers.
> 
> this is also posted over at my tumblr: hairringtonsteve.tumblr.com! i've got way more fics over there, and am slowly going to be adding them to my Ao3 account.


	4. iii. no plan.

“I’m not getting into a car with him.”  Your finger tapped against the walkie-talkie button as you waited for a response.

Just minutes earlier, Steve pulled up outside of the cabin and walked up to the steps, awkwardly telling you that Hopper had told him to pick you up.

You’d left the door hanging open before angrily striding towards the walkie-talkie in the kitchen.

A crackly sigh came through the tinny speaker on the device, bringing you out of your reverie. “Kid, get in the damn car. Joyce is going to have my ass if you kids aren’t here in the next thirty minutes. It’s just Steve. He’s safe.” You thought back to Seb thrashing in Steve’s arms, the panic that was coming off of him in waves. Your stomach soured.

“I don’t trust him.”

“Yeah, well, you trust me, don’t you? And I trust Steve. So get in the damn car.”

Looking over your shoulder, you eyed Steve as he sat on the ground and watched Seb color something. He pointed out a green crayon for the five-year-old to use, to which Seb rolled his eyes and picked up a crayon that was a shade darker. Steve chuckled, his eyes flickering over to you.

He smiled a little, as though he were trying to disarm you. It didn’t work.

You kept your face stony, instead pressing your thumb against the button. “Fine,” you muttered. “But you’re driving us back.”

“Fine with me, kid. Just get over here.”

You waited, listening to a crackle over the radio for a second, waiting to see if there was anything else. When there wasn’t, you set it down and told Seb to put on his shoes. Glancing out the window, you noticed that Tee was already outside, her finger running over the hood of his car.

“Sorry to… uh, have barged in here. Hopper made it sound like you knew I was coming,” Steve said as he stood up and made his way over to you.

“Well, he didn’t tell me anything.” You stepped past him to get to where your shoes were lying near the front door. Shoving your feet into them, you listened as Seb started chattering to Steve.

“Does your car go fast? Is it good? El won’t let us get a car because we’re poor.” Steve let out a choked laugh. “How much was your car?”

“Don’t ask stuff like that. It isn’t polite,” you barked. Bending down to re-tie your left shoe, you sighed. This was ridiculous. You guys needed to be gathering supplies and heading towards Michigan, not going to someone’s house for dinner.

“No, it’s okay.” Steve ran his fingers through his hair, making the front of it poof up a little. “I don’t know how much it cost. My dad bought it for me for my birthday awhile back.”

You looked up just in time to see Seb stare at him, wide-eyed.

“Your  _dad_  bought you something for your birthday?”

“Uh, yeah? Didn’t your dad ever get you something for your birthday?”

Seb opened his mouth to reply, but you beat him to it: “Yeah, he did. But not a car.”

Steve ducked his head at the jibe.

“Let’s go,” you said, starting towards the door.

Steve waited for you and Seb to leave the cabin, shutting the door behind him as Seb raced to the car,

“I call the front seat!” He yelled, bouncing on the balls of his feet when he came up to stand beside Tee.

“Nope, you’re in the back with T— Reese.” You bit down on your lip as you raked your gaze over the car. It was nice. It looked expensive.

“How come I’m stuck in the back?” Tee asked, crossing her arms across your chest.

“Oldest gets up front. So get in.”

It took about a minute or so for everyone to get settled in the car. Tee was gently prodding the back of your seat with her foot while Seb had his face shoved up against the window.

“Can we go really fast?” He asked as Steve put his car in reverse to get it turned around.

“Uh, I’m not sure how much Hopper would appreciate me peeling out of here.” Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Steve glance over to you, but you pretended not to notice. Instead, you turned your attention to the trees outside, trying to slowly tune out the way that Seb was continuing to chatter on about something to do with going fast and braking.

“So, you like music?” Steve asked as he pulled out onto the main road.

“Doesn’t everyone?” You asked, turning from the blur of the trees outside your window to look at him. He offered you a small smile. You scowled.

“El — Elise — likes Bowly!” Seb offered. _The traitor._

You let out a snort despite the fact that it kind of felt like giving Steve a little bit of an edge. “It’s  _Bowie_ , Seb. Not Bowly.”

“You like Bowie?” Steve asked, his attention immediately piqued.

You gave a short jerk of your head, something barely resembling a nod.

“I, uh, I have a couple of old Bowie records that you could borrow, if you wanted.”

You paused, remembering the first time you’d heard Bowie. Despite the fact that it had been coming out of a scratchy old speaker inside of some pizza shop somewhere in New Jersey, it had made you freeze. Maybe it had been the lyrics, talking about how we can be heroes just for one day. Or maybe it had been his voice, unlike anything you’d ever heard.

Whatever it had been, it had made him stick with you.

It had made you stop and want to listen to more. You’d heard a smattering of his songs as the three of you had made your way from Montauk to Hawkins, but most of the time it was just the same five or six songs on the radio, whatever was popular.

Just think about how many more David Bowie songs would be on an entire album.

“I’ve got a lot of Bowie records, actually,” Steve said, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. “And some tapes, too. I’ve got  _Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,_ uh…” He trailed off for a moment. “Oh! I’ve got  _“Heroes”_  too! That’s a good one.”   
_  
“Doesn’t matter, Queen’s better_.” Steve’s voice shifted into the background as the four words floated through your mind in Alex’s voice, making your fingernails dig into your palm.

_“What’s Queen?” You’d asked, frowning up at him. He just laughed and clapped a hand on your shoulder._

_“I can’t tell you. You’ve got to figure it out on your own, El.”_

“—No thanks.” You blinked, finding yourself talking without having even realized what you were saying. Steve’s face fell as he turned his attention back to the road. A sharp kick hit the back of your seat, making you jolt forward a little. Whipping around, you found Tee scowling at you.

 _Be nice_ , she mouthed.

You rolled your eyes.

She gave you the finger.

You settled back into your seat, refusing to give in.

“Are you sure you don’t want to borrow some? I think I’ve got an old tape player somewhere at my house if you’d want to listen,” Steve offered.

You shook your head.

“I mean, I know that the quality is way better on a record than it is on a tape, but tapes are portable. Which is cool. And handy.” Steve was babbling at that point, but you didn’t care.

“Like I said, no thanks. I’m good.”

“I’ll borrow your tape player, Steve,” Tee said, her voice almost too sweet.

“Oh, uh, okay.” His voice was a little unsteady. He shot you a questioning look, but you just let your head fall against the window. You weren’t sure yourself what Tee was trying to pull — other than trying to make you bash your head against the wall.

A beat of silence fell over the car, lingering until it lasted for over a minute. The only sound was coming from the engine. The trees blurred passed before eventually, Steve tried to start talking once more.

“So, Seb, you’re in school, right?”

You stilled, your eyes slipping shut for a moment.  _Please make something up, Please_.

“Nope!”

“Oh.” You didn’t want to risk looking over at Steve, but you couldn’t help yourself. His fingers tapped against the steering wheel as he bobbed his head a little. “So you’re homeschooled?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s where you go to school, but at home.”

“They’re making him wait a year,” you said. Your words came out a little rushed, but it was better than nothing. You needed to think on your feet faster. “Our parents thought he was a little immature to start kindergarten.”

“I am not imm’ture,” Seb said indignantly.

Thankfully, Steve just chuckled and shook his head. You let out a breath, nice and slow.

“Are you in school?” Seb asked.

“I’m not, actually. I graduated high school last year.”

“What’s graduated?”

Shit, was that a thing that five-year-olds were supposed to know?

“It means I finished high school.”

Seb hummed a soft  _mhmm_. “You must be smart then.”

Steve choked out a laugh as he slowed down and turned on his turn signal. Before the conversation could continue any further, he was pulling into a driveway. Seb scrambled to unbuckle his seatbelt before shoving his head into the front, between you and Steve.

“Is this where they live?” He asked, eyes wide.

“Where else would Steve be bringing us?” Tee asked, doing something to Seb that you missed, but it made him yelp.

His little arm jutted out in front of your face as he pointed to what looked like a pet bowl on the porch. “Do they have a dog?” He asked, trying to shove himself further into the front seat. Steve reached over to put a hand on Seb’s shoulder, easing him back.

“They used to, but not anymore.”

With that, Seb deflated, falling back into the seat. “I wanted to see a dog,” he mumbled. You ducked your head, biting back a smirk as Steve put the car in park and shut off the engine.

You swung open the car door, leaning against the side of the vehicle as Tee and Seb got out. You caught Tee’s wrist as she tried to step passed you, taking care that it was out of Steve’s sight.

“Keep an eye on Seb, okay? Make sure he doesn’t say anything that’ll get us caught.”

Tee jerked herself away from your touch. “Yeah, yeah. I got it. I’m not stupid.”

You blinked, staring as she headed off towards the house with Seb close behind her.

“Siblings, am I right?” Steve asked, coming out of nowhere. You jumped, which made him snigger. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear what you said, but she just looked a little pissed.”

You raised a brow at him before starting towards the house.

“ _You have siblings_?” Steve asked, raising his voice in what appeared to be a poor imitation of you. “Why no, I don’t. But thank you for asking that, Elise. It was really polite of you.”

You stared at him, something jolting in your chest a little at his wide grin. “Do you ever stop talking?”

He shook his head as the two of you made your way onto their porch. “Not at all.” Seb had left the door hanging wide open, so Steve motioned to the door. “After you.”

The house was already crowded with people when you walked inside. Some were on the couch, arguing about something while the rest seemed to be gathered in the kitchen. Seb headed over to you immediately, pressing into your side as you headed into the kitchen and locked eyes with Tee, who was sitting at the table with a couple of other teens. Steve stepped in, moving passed you towards the cups on the counter.

“Elise, you made it!” Joyce said, making her way over to you. She offered you a warm smile as she watched you take in everyone else. “I know it’s a little overwhelming, but they’re harmless.”

You took in a deep breath as she started pointing to people and saying names.

“Okay, so you already know Hop,” she said, just loud enough for the man to turn around and give you a quick nod before turning back to whatever was cooking on the stove. “That’s Will, Jane, and Mike,” she said, pointing to the three younger-looking teens sitting at the kitchen table. They all turned around and waved. “Max and Lucas are on the couch with Jonathan — my oldest — and his girlfriend Nancy.”

You just nodded your head, trying to take in all of the information. Before you could even say hi, the front door swung open so hard that it hit against the wall. A second later it slammed shut, making Seb jump.

“Hey Stevie, ever think of remembering to pick me up from school today?” A young teen asked as he waltzed into the kitchen like he owned the place. He was scowling at Steve, who casually took a sip from his cup. Steve shrugged.

“I dunno, man. Ever think about  _not_  telling everyone and their neighbor to come over to Mrs. Byers’ for dinner?” Steve fired back, earning another scowl.

“Hey, man, this was your idea! Have some giant dinner to impress some girl!”

“Dustin!” Mike snapped, frowning at him. “Can it, man. You’re going to freak them out, you’re so loud.”

Dustin looked over to the three of you and gave you a toothy grin. “Sorry,” he said, keeping his voice loud enough to be heard over Steve’s ‘ _uh — you — it’s not — what are you — uh —’_ He glanced over to Steve and snorted before looking back to you. “I’m Dustin.”

“I’m Reese,” Tee said, piping up. There was a small smile, one that you couldn’t remember seeing before. “This is Sebastian — Seb for short — and Elise,” she continued, motioning to the respective people. “Does everyone call him Stevie?”

“No!”

“Yes!”

The opposing answers came at the same time, with Steve shooting Dustin a glare while the room erupted into some laughter. Seb clung onto your hand tight, pressing his face into your side. He mumbled something that you couldn’t hear, so you tapped him on the shoulder until he looked up at you.

“What’d you say?”

He sighed, as though it was some great big pain to get the words out. “It’s loud.”

“I know.” You carded your fingers through his hair the way that he liked, hoping that it’d make him chill out a little. “We just have to make it through dinner.”

“Hey Elise, you wanna give me a hand with this?” Hopper called, giving you a pointed look. You frowned at him, trying to figure out why he needed you until he mouthed,  _you good?_  You rolled your eyes and nodded.

“I’m going to go help Hop, okay?” You looked down at Seb, softening your voice as you spoke.

Seb grabbed onto your hand tight, tugging on it hard enough that you winced. “Don’t go.”

“What about Tee?” You glanced over to where she’d been sitting, smiling a little as she made small talk with Mike and Jane. “Look, she’s making friends. They’re nice, Seb.” Except maybe Dustin, but you kept that to yourself. The kid was probably just a loud mouth.

Will made his way over to the two of you, smiling a little. “Hey, you wanna come check out my board games before dinner? You can pick what we play.”

There was a beat of silence as Seb’s eyes slowly moved up to Will. He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together as he watched him. “What’s a board game?”

Hopper called your name once more, causing you to sigh. “How about you go with Will and find out, hmm?”

Reluctantly, Seb nodded. As the two of them headed into the living room, you could hear Seb ask: “Do you play it when you’re bored?”

After that, getting everything ready went pretty fast. Hopper needed your help getting the lasagna out of the stove, but by the time that was done, everything else was on the counter. There were too many people there to actually set the table, Joyce had said, so they were doing it buffet-style.

You still weren’t sure what that meant, but you figured that if you hung back enough, you’d figure it out.

“You not hungry?” Steve asked, coming up behind you. You jumped and gave a jerk of your head.

“I’m waiting for Seb.”

“Doesn’t he already have a plate?”

You frowned, your gaze sliding from person to person until it landed on Will and Seb. Will had two plates in his hand and was asking Seb what he wanted at every dish. Unsurprisingly, Seb’s plate was piled high with every single thing that there was.

“He’s going to waste all that,” you murmured, already moving to step forward. A hand on your arm made you stop. But it seemed like the instant it had touched you, it was being pulled away.

“Let him. Mrs. Byers always cooks for an army.” You turned to Steve, noting the blush that went from his cheeks to his neck, and under the collar of his shirt. “Sorry about that,” he added, motioning to your arm. “I’m used to doing it with them.”

“Stevie is the mom of us,” Dustin said, coming out of nowhere. He bumped his shoulder against Steve’s as he grabbed a plate from the table. “At first I thought he was the dad, but then I found out he uses hairsp—”

A sharp elbow to Dustin’s side from Steve cut him off. 

“Why don’t you go eat, huh? Stuff your face enough so you’ll shut up?”

Dustin glanced furtively around before looking back to Steve and murmuring, “Dick.”

“Shithead,” Steve replied easily, his voice just as low. The exchange made the corners of your lips twitch. Reaching over to the table, Steve grabbed two plates and handed you one. “C’mon, you gotta eat.”

“Are you mom-ing her too?” Dustin asked as the three of you got in line behind Jonathan.

“No!” Steve said, a little too fast. “It’s just that if she doesn’t get a plate, you guys are going to eat all of the food.” He glanced over to you, watching as you raised a brow at him. “I’m just saying. It’s only mom-ing you if I tell you to eat more vegetables.” To punctuate his statement, he stepped to the side, reaching around Jonathan to grab a spoonful of broccoli and dumped it onto Dustin’s plate. “It’ll help your eyesight.”

“That’s carrots.” Dustin scowled at his plate, although a second later the scowl softened into something resembling a little smile, albeit a reluctant one. The scene reminded you of the nights on the run with Seb and Tee, how you’d have to practically bribe them into eating a banana or an orange.

For the briefest of seconds, you wished that someone would care about you like that.

Shaking your head, you approached the counter and started scooping food onto your plate. Lasagna, garlic bread, broccoli, salad, and more cluttered the countertop.

You were pretty sure you’d seen a cake somewhere on the counter too.

Tee and Seb followed Will, Lucas, and Max into the living room while you hung back. They were being social, making friends, learning how to be real people. They didn’t need you intruding on their time. You looked around the room, a brief, sharp sting of panic zooming through your chest before Steve called your name.

“You going to stand there all night?” He asked, using his foot to gently kick at the chair next to him while he set his plate down on the kitchen table. Somehow sensing your unease, he said, “They’re just in the living room. They’ll be fine.”

You waited for a second and then headed over, slowly setting your plate down. When you sat down in your chair, you scooted it a couple inches to the left, making sure that you weren’t sitting close to Steve.

But after that, things were… fine.

You mostly sat in silence and ate, but occasionally Steve would ask you a question to draw you into the conversation. At one point he got up to grab seconds and came back with two pieces of garlic bread. He was replying to something that Dustin said as he dropped one piece onto your plate.

“What’re you doing?” You asked, picking it up and moving it towards him.

“You practically inhaled the garlic bread. Thought you’d want another piece before Mike decides to scarf down the rest.”

“Yeah, you gotta watch Mike,” Dustin said through a mouthful of lasagna. He swallowed before saying, “One time I watched him eat an entire loaf of homemade bread. Watched him puke it all up, too.”

“Can you not talk about that while we’re eating?” Steve complained as he tossed a single piece of broccoli towards Dustin.

Will walked into the kitchen and set his plate in the sink before turning to face the table. “We’re going to play Life if you guys want to play.”

You shook your head, motioning to your plate. There wasn’t much on there, but it was enough to satisfy Will’s brief questioning stare.

“What about you, Steve?” He asked, looking hopeful. Steve shook his head.

“Nah, man. Elise and I are trying to polish off all of the garlic bread.” He leaned back in his chair, shooting you a quick smile.

Will frowned. “But you  _always_  play —” He cut off his words as Dustin made some weird movement with his hand. “Right, yeah. Okay. Well if you change your mind, you can always jump in.”

As Will headed back into the living room, you frowned. “You don’t have to babysit me, Steve. I’m fine.” There was a little line of tension in your voice.

Steve just raised an eyebrow at you. “Why would I babysit someone my own age? I just want to gorge myself on garlic bread.” To prove his point, he reached over to grab the piece of garlic bread from Dustin’s plate and shoved it into his mouth, keeping eye contact with you the entire time.

You really didn’t want to, there was no way you were going to —

You laughed. It wasn’t much, barely a huff, but it was something. And Steve noticed. His shoulders straightened a little as he started to smile, his cheeks puffed out with the food.

“Christ, Steve. Chew your goddamn food already,” Dustin muttered, only to have Hopper swat him lightly over the head. “Sorry Sheriff. Won’t happen again.”

Hopper just rolled his eyes. “Sure it won’t.” His eyes slid over the table, resting on you. He raised a brow, a silent question.  _You okay?_

You shrugged your shoulders a little, just enough for him to see.  _Yep_.

In the living room, you could hear Mike’s voice going on and on about the rules of the game.

While you were in the kitchen, Seb was nodding sagely at Mike while the older boy tried to explain the rules to him. He pushed his hair out of his eyes as he tried to see the board better. “But what’s the point?”

Mike stared at him, sighed, and starting explaining it all over again.

It was around the third time that Mike was explaining the rules and the fifth time that Seb shoved his hair out of his eyes when Joyce spoke up. “You know, I’ve got some hair shears in the bathroom if you want a trim, Seb. Would you like it out of your eyes?” He started to nod, only to stop when Tee kicked him in the shin.

“Oh, no. I was wrong. I’m fine,” he said automatically. Joyce looked from Tee to Seb, frowning a little.

“Okay, well you tell me if you change your mind.” She cast an odd glance at Seb before heading back into the kitchen.

“Can someone explain to me the rules again?” Seb asked, frowning at the game of  _Life_  that was spread out before him on the floor. Mike started explaining it, but Seb quickly lost interest in the rules, instead focusing on Jane, who was sitting to his left. Her sweater had ridden up and Seb was staring at her wrist intently.

“Where’d you get that?” He asked.

Jane froze for a second before her shoulders slumped back down. “I’ve just had it,” she replied, her voice soft.

“I don’t remember where I got mine, either,” Seb said, leaning over to grab one of the little blue people. He fiddled with it for a moment before looking over to Jane and smiling. “He’s dancing, see?”

“Yours?” Jane asked, her brow furrowing.

“No, this is Will’s.” He held up the blue piece in question.

“No, this.” Her fingers wrapped around her wrist as she stared at him imploringly. “Yours?”

Seb shook his head. “Mine’s behind my ear.” He tapped the back of his left ear. “I’m not ‘upposed to tell people, but you’re like me so it’s okay.” He glanced around quickly, making sure that no one was looking before he lifted up his hair. There the numbers were.

 **017**.

“That’s why Tee, I mean Reese, won’t let me cut my hair. Can’t let people see my name.” Jane stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly.

“Right.”

Seb turned back to Mike, grinning as the teen asked him if he understood the game.

Seb grinned brightly. “Nope!”

• • •

You had been following the conversation in the kitchen for awhile as everyone chatted back and forth. Mostly, though, you were interested in the way that Dustin kept making fun of Steve.

“Let me go to the ice cream shop just once while you’re working. I can make so many pirate jokes, it’s not even funny.” Dustin settled back into his chair, a chocolate chip cookie in his hand.

“Oh trust me, it’s never funny. Ever,” Steve shot back, scowling.

“You should see his cute little costume, Elise. He looks like a real skipper, like Gilligan.”

“Who’s Gilligan?” You asked, frowning a little.

“You don’t know who Gilligan is? He’s — he’s Gilligan! From  _Gilligan’s Island_ , the TV show!” Dustin stared at you, eyes wide. “Where have you been? Everyone knows who Gilligan is.”

You snagged a cookie from the tray and took a bite, ignoring his question. It’s not like he could’ve known what he was asking, but it still stung a little. So you got up from the table, Dustin’s voice fading into the background as you stepped into the living room. Seb looked enthralled in the board game. Something like jealousy shot through you. He was so good at this, fitting in and making friends. You, on the other hand, get pissed off at the smallest thing and then bail on the conversation.

No wonder you didn’t have any friends.

It was easier to keep moving than to linger in the living room, so you headed into the hallway. There wasn’t much to explore in the house, but there was a little bit that you hadn’t seen yet. The second you were around the corner, though, fingers wrapped around your wrist, making you jerk back.

“The hell are you doing?” You asked as Jane started to tug you down the hallway.

She didn’t reply.

“Where are you taking me?” You snapped, making sure to keep your voice low. You could feel the chaotic emotions swirling around her, moving so fast you couldn’t get a read on any of them. Without meaning to, you focused, feeling a line of blood drip from your nose. “Let me  _go_ ,” you hissed.

She stopped talking and whirled around, eyes wide as they paused on the blood. “You’re like me.”

“Hate to break it to you, kid, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Jane rolled her eyes and shoved up your sleeve. “Like m—” She frowned when she saw the skin. Without a word, she reached for your other wrist, checking that one as well. “Where is it?”

“Where’s what?” You glanced back, hearing the muffled voices coming from the living room. Occasionally, you’d hear Seb’s high-pitched laugh.

“Hey Elise, Jane? Where’d you guys go?” Steve called. You opened your mouth to reply when Jane jabbed her finger into your stomach. You turned back to her and sighed.

“Look, Jane, I don’t know what you’re talking about, okay? Can’t we just…” Your voice trailed off as she pulled up the sleeve on her own arm. It was the small black ink in the lettering that was so family it made your heart ache.

Three little numbers.

The room was spinning around you as you tried to contain yourself. Had she been at the lab with you at some point, in some other project? Had you somehow missed her while she was there? Did she know Brenner? Did she —

“Jane? Elise? What’re you doing back here?” Steve asked. It was hard to focus on anything other than your own thoughts. Beside you, Jane tugged her sleeve back down. You took in a deep breath as you turned around, Steve starting to talk once more. “You’re missing — hey, you’re bleeding.” He stepped forward, a concerned look on his face.

You huffed out a weak laugh. “It’s nothing, just the dry air.” You reached up to swipe at your nose, feeling the dried blood not budge. “Thanks for showing me the bathroom, Jane.” You looked over to her for a second before back to Steve.

“Right, right. Do your business.” As the words left Steve’s mouth, his cheeks flooded with red. “Jesus, just… ignore me.” Without another moment passing, he whipped around and started down the hall. You could hear him muttering to himself until he turned the corner, questioning his sanity.

Turning back to Jane, you frowned. Your hands were shaking.

“Look, I don’t know what that’s about, but you’re wrong, okay?”

It wasn’t a surprise that she didn’t believe you. Jane just sighed and walked into the bathroom, motioning for you to follow her. After a second, you walked in. The door shut on its own behind you. For a second, it was dark, until the light came on.

By itself.

You looked into the mirror, watching as a little thin line of blood ran from her nose. Just like yours.

“Same,” she said, her voice soft. “Family.”

 _Family_. It was your first instinct to lash out at her, to snap that she  _wasn’t_  your family and that she needed to shut up. That your family was gone, that you were trying to get the ones that were left back. But the quieter part of you, the one that sounded an awful lot like Alex told you to be nice, to accept her.  For whatever reason, the two of you were the same.

“Where are you from?” Your voice was scraggly as it came out, the shock making it rough.

“Here. A lab. What about you?”

“A lab in Montauk.”

“Where’s your number?”

Your hands trembled at your side. That was the number one rule —  _never show your number_. You could remember the lot of you — what was left of you — huddled inside an abandoned building after you’d all made it out of the lab. Never show your number, never let anyone see. That’s how you lived. It’s how you survived. But like she’d said, you were the same.

With a deep sigh, you reached up and pulled the hair back from your left ear. You put it behind your shoulder before bending your ear enough so she could see. The ink was more faded than Jane’s was, but the numbers were clear.

 **011**.

Jane reached up to touch it. Her fingers brushed against the tattoo gently, as though any harder and they’d disappear right in front of her. “You’re Eleven too.”

“I am.” Her hand dropped as you spoke and relief washed through you. You wanted to scrub at the area, to cleanse it from any touches. The last person to touch it had been  _him_ , when his thumb had pressed against it before he told you to try to get the information from the man again. “But look, Jane… You can’t tell anyone, okay?”

Instantly, she frowned. “Why? Are there bad men after you?”

“Something like that. So you can’t breathe a word of this to anyone.”

“They can help you,” Jane said, nodding her head in the direction of the living room. “They helped me.”

“Look, the last thing I want is for more people to get involved with this shit, okay? So you can’t tell a soul.”

There was a beat of silence before she nodded her head, reluctant. Without a word, she grabbed a washcloth and wet it in the sink before passing it over to you. While you wiped away the blood, she did the same with another washcloth for herself.

There was so much you wanted to ask her, so much you needed to know. You opened your mouth to say something, anything, when there was a frantic knocking on the door. Opening it, Tee was standing in front of you, eyes wide with panic.

“What?” You asked. Tee cast a worried glance at Jane, who frowned at her. “Don’t worry about her, just tell me what’s going on.”

“So me, and Dustin, and Lucas, and Max were in the woods, okay?”

“Wait, you went outside and didn’t tell me?” There was a trace of anger in your voice, but you kept it under control. Whatever happened, it was freaking her out.

“Yeah, yeah, yell at me later. But we were in the woods and near the neighbor’s house when this car pulled up into the neighbor’s driveway and these guys got out of the car and — and —” She started breathing heavily, your hand immediately going up to touch her arm gently.

“Just breathe, relax. Whatever this is, we’ve got time. Don’t worry.”

She was shaking her head the second you started speaking. “Two guys — black suits — looking for three  _runaways from Muncie_.”

Your blood ran cold. You’d told exactly one person that you were from Muncie, and at that very second you could hear the low rumble of his voice from the other room.

Had he tipped someone off? How could he have? He said that he wasn’t going to call CPS, and you hadn’t picked up that he was lying about it. Had he gotten ahold of someone else? Had he — were you wrong? Had you fucked up?

You shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts. Whatever you did earlier, it didn’t matter. You just had to get out of there, and fast. Grabbing Tee’s hand, you pushed passed her and dragged her down the hallway. Your eyes searched the living room before landing on Seb. Good. He was inside.

Next, you let go of Tee’s hand before stepping into the kitchen where Steve and Hopper were, along with Joyce.

“Uh, Steve?” You began, something in your chest twitching as Hopper had looked over to you. “Would you mind taking us home early? I just — uh — got sick in the bathroom. A stomach bug, or something.”

“You want me to take you home, and Steve can bring the others back?” Hopper suggested. Your breath caught in your throat. He’s trying to separate the three of you so he can do something or or or —

“No, that’s alright. It’s getting close to Seb’s bedtime.” You looked over to Steve, pleading with him silently. It’d probably draw too much attention to try to use your powers on all three of them at the same time. Maybe by some miracle, he’d help you out.

“I can take them, Hopper. No big deal. I was thinking about heading home anyway,” Steve said, his voice a little too loud to you.

Hopper looked between the two of you for a minute before shrugging his shoulders.  “If you don’t mind, Elise, I’m fine with it. You guys want breakfast tomorrow?”

You gave a nod of your head. “Yeah. Sure. That’ll be fine. Thanks.”

You glanced back towards the living room where Tee was already getting Seb’s shoes on. He shot you a frown, decidedly unhappy with your choice to leave. A board game was sprawled out on the floor, the rest of the kids looking at you with varying degrees of confusion.

“Are you sure we can’t finish playing Life?” Will asked, giving you a hopeful grin.

“Sorry, man, but Elise isn’t feeling all that great,” Steve said, coming up behind you. You turned around, quirking a brow at him as he asked, “You ready to go?”

The next twenty minutes flew by in a flash. It was as though one minute you were in the Byers home, and the next Steve was pulling up to the cabin. His lips were moving as you looked at him.

“What?”

“I asked if you wanted me to bring you any medicine or anything? It’d take me probably a half hour or so, but I could run into town and get you something. The general store should still be open.”

You shook your head. “I think I’m good. Just need to lie down, or something.”

“That’ll probably help. You look a little pale.”

Sucking in a deep breath, you mustered up a small smile. “Thanks, Steve.”

He shrugged his shoulders, an easy grin sliding across his mouth. You envied his ease. “It’s no problem, El.” If he noticed the way you stiffened up, he didn’t say anything. “I’ll see you around.”

Getting out of the car, you faintly heard him telling Tee and Seb to make sure that they took care of you. There was a chorus of ‘yes’ before the door was closed and Steve was reversing his vehicle.

Trudging up the porch, Seb was pressing his lips together. “Why’d we have to leave? Tee said something bad happened.”

“We have to get our things packed up and head out tonight. Somebody from the lab knows we’re in Hawkins.”

“But I like it here,” Seb said, letting out a petulant whine.

“I know.” You slung an arm around his shoulders as Tee opened the door. “But you’ll like it where we’re going, too. You remember the plan, right?”

“Meet up with everyone and then cross the border.” Seb spoke in such a way that it was obvious it had practically been drilled into his head.

“Exactly. So go get your backpack ready, and we’ll leave in an hour.”

Everything was a flurry of packing from then on. There wasn’t much to pack since the three of you only had a couple of changes of clothes each, but it was the raiding of the cabin that took the longest. Tee was in charge of grabbing any food that wasn’t perishable and wouldn’t weigh them down too much. Seb was in charge of finding anything that looked like it’d be first aid supplies, and you were sorting through money that had been spread out between the three packs.

It was hard to tell how long the packing had been going on when you saw them. Headlights flashing through the window.

“Someone’s here,” you hissed, causing Tee and Seb to duck to the ground. The lights were on in the cabin, and it’d be obvious to anyone outside that someone was there if you turned them off. “Go to the bedroom and shut the blinds.”

Tee and Seb army-crawled across the ground, panic twisting and turning around the two of them like a caged animal. You moved towards the window, taking care to keep low. Your teeth bit into your lip, drawing blood. It was difficult to hear beyond the roaring of blood in your ears, or the way your heart was going to pound right out of your chest. But somehow, you got up enough courage to peek through the window to see the car. The headlights were blinding, making it impossible to see.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK._

“Fuck me,” you muttered as you ducked down. Maybe if no one answered, they’d leave. But a second later, it was the same three insistent knocks. Starting towards the door, you thanked whatever heavenly being existed that you’d set a baseball bat near the door the previous night.

Just in case.

You straightened up when you reached the door, your fingers wrapping around the handle as the knocking started up again. In the middle of the second, you swung the door open, bat in the air and swinging at the person in front of it.

Wood made contact with skin. The figure hit the ground, and a groan started up immediately. “Holy shit, do you play for the majors? Christ, you’re strong.”

It took you a second to place the voice. “ _Steve_?”

“Who else were you expecting?” You set the bat against the door and held out your hand to help him up.

“What are you doing here?” He wasn’t supposed to be here. Had he led them here? Was  _he_  the one that was responsible for this? He was with them, wasn’t he? That lying, son-of-a-bitch, he

“Got you stuff for your stomach,” he said in between soft groans. One of his hands came to tough gently at the spot where you’d hit him, a bruise already starting to bloom across his skin. The other hand held out a small bottle of medicine. “Thought you might want it, even though you said you didn’t want any.”

“Steve, thanks, but I really need you to get out of here.”

He straightened up and frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Look, it’s just none of your…” You trailed off as he looked passed you into the cabin. Shouldering his way inside, you scowled. “Business.”

“What happened in here? Did someone break in?”

In the midst of your packing, no one had thought to be neat about it. Food and first aid supplies were strewn across the couch and on the counters in the kitchen while money was laid out in piles on one of the chairs.

“Like I said, it’s none of your business. Just go home.”

“Steve?” The two of you looked over to see Seb and Tee poking their heads out of the bedroom door.

“What’re you doing here?” Seb asked, stepping into the living room.

“Uh, just… Honestly, I don’t know. What’s going on?” He turned to you and raised a brow. Before you could say anything, a look of understanding dawned across his face. “You’re leaving.”

“Can you just go? Please?” You were wasting time and he was wasting your time and Jane was one of you and Hopper had betrayed you and your best friend was dead and fuck you couldn’t handle any of this anymore. “Can my life be easy for once and you just get out?”

Steve took a step towards you, hands held out in front of him to show that he wasn’t going to try anything. “Look, just tell me what’s going on. Let me help. Let Hopper help.” You were shaking your head at that, insistent. You weren’t sure if you could breathe. “Okay, okay, Hopper’s out. Let me help then, okay? At least help you guys pack? What do you need done?”

That… You hadn’t expected that.

But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter at all. You’d messed up trusting Hopper. You weren’t making the same mistake again.

“We need the food and first aid stuff in bags. Spread out among them,” Tee said before you could tell Steve just where he could go. You whipped around to Tee, scowling.

“Nope. You’re not in charge. You don’t get to tell him that he can help.”

“Oh, come on El! You can’t be serious here. If he helps, it’ll take less time. We can get out. We can  _go_. Maybe he can even drive us to —”

“ _No_. Steve, get out.”

“I want Steve to help,” Seb said. You closed your eyes, forcing yourself to breathe through your nose to try to calm yourself down. It didn’t work.

“This isn’t a democracy. You don’t get a vote. Neither of you do,” you said. Your voice was noticeably forced. It was taking every ounce of your self-control to keep in check.

“So what, it’s a dictatorship then?” Tee asked, venom in her voice.

Out of the corner of your eye, Steve took a step back. But you were too focused on the little asshole in front of you to really pay attention to him.

“Yeah, it is a dictatorship!” You yelled, stomping forward until you were right up in her face. “You two aren’t going to end up dead because of me, do you hear me? So you’re going to do what I say, and you’re going to do it without saying shit for once in your life, okay?”

Tee’s mouth pressed itself into a hard line as she shook her head. “We never asked you to be in charge,” she said, her voice soft enough that Steve wouldn’t hear. “You just made yourself in charge since Alex died.”

Something inside of you snapped. You took a step back and shrugged your shoulders. “Fine. Whatever. Let him help. But if this blows up in our faces, it’s on you.”

Tee’s face darkened. “Steve, you can start with the bags,” she said, her eyes staying on yours.

You couldn’t see him, but you could hear the hesitant steps that he started to take. When he reached the couch, you turned and glared at him. “Don’t touch the money.”

“It’s cool,” Steve murmured. “I’ll steer clear of it.”

And he did. You watched as he helped Seb and Tee sort through the food and first aid supplies. Steve asked what bag was Seb’s and made sure to put the lightest stuff in there. He even grabbed some crayons and some paper too, making Seb smile.

Within what felt like minutes, everything was done. You’d counted the money three times over. It wasn’t much, but it’d be enough for a bus to Michigan. You could do this. You could do this.

“Okay, so what’s next?” Steve asked as he zipped up the last backpack. Tee and Seb already had their’s on. “Where are you guys headed?”

“The bus station. How close is it?” Tee asked.

“A good ways away, but at this time of night? You’re going to be sitting there for hours. Are you sure you can’t crash here tonight and leave in the morning?”

“We just need to leave. Now,” you said.

“Where are you guys headed? On the bus?” You shook your head at him. “Look, what if… What if I drive you guys?”

Your jaw dropped, as did Seb and Tee’s. “You’re kidding,” you said, somehow getting the words out. “Why would I let you drive us?”

“Because you need out, and you trust me enough to let me help you pack.”

“This isn’t happening.”

“I’ve got an atlas in my car. What if you just navigate, and you don’t tell me where we’re going?”

“You’re kidding.” Steve shrugged his shoulders. “It’s at least a six-hour drive. Don’t you have a life?”

Steve shrugged again. “Not really.”

“Why are you offering?”

At that, Steve faltered. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before eventually settling on, “Dustin always says I have a mom complex. I just — you guys seemed really freaked out the other night. And now. You look like you could use some help.”

You reached out with your powers, trying to find something,  _anything_ , that would tip you off to what he was really feeling. But it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Nothing sinister or malicious. Just genuine care.

 _You were wrong about Hopper. You’re wrong about him_ , some part of you whispered.

“El…ise, come on,” Tee said, her voice cutting through your thoughts. “We need to leave, and now. Steve is our best bet out of here.”

She was right. And that pissed you off even more. Somehow, the fifteen-year-old shithead was making more rational choices than you were. It was either go with Steve or inevitably get caught. You rolled your eyes at her before shrugging your shoulders.

“Fine. Get in the car.”

• • •

Your heart was pounding somewhere inside your chest. You’d thought that going to dinner was the dumbest choice you’d made, but it turns out that no, you had room for more.

If there was a Dumb Ass of the Year award, you’d be a shoo-in.

Soft snores came from Tee and Seb in the back. You craned your neck around to get a better look at them. Tee had her arms wrapped around her backpacking a vise-like grip, her head resting on her balled up sweater. Seb, on the other hand, was sprawled out alongside the rest of the back seat, his head against Tee’s leg. The sight of them made your heart squeeze.

You settled back into your seat, glancing over to Steve. You didn’t trust him, not by a long shot. But you could read his emotions easily. Worry, concern, anxiety; they all swirled around him. But there wasn’t anything that made you think that he was in this for the wrong reasons.

Maybe he was just genuinely this nice.

“You mind if I turn on some music?” He asked, his voice barely audible above the quiet. You shook your head, watching his hand as he reached out to turn on the stereo. Nothing came out at first, just the gentle whirring of the tape before it started back up in the middle of a song.

_There’s no chance for us_  
_It’s all decided for us_  
_This world only has one  
_ _Sweet moment set aside for us_

“Who’s this?” You asked, your brow furrowing as you tried to ignore the way the lyrics were making your chest ache.

Steve furrowed his brow a little, surprise crossing his face.

“You’ve never heard of Queen?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments feed writers. 
> 
> i'm over at hairringtonsteve.tumblr.com! i forget if i've said that i've been debating migrating all of my fics over to here so it's on two platforms, but i've been thinking about it! 
> 
> alsocanwetalkabouthowwefinallygetstrangerthings3tHISYEAR

**Author's Note:**

> comments feed writers. 
> 
> this is also posted over at my tumblr: hairringtonsteve.tumblr.com! i've got way more fics over there, and am slowly going to be adding them to my Ao3 account.


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